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An excellent game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

First of all, I'd like to say how sick I am of people who give a game 5 stars, but then mention flaws in thier reviews. (If it has flaws worth mentioning, it's not quite worth five stars. ^_^ )

Having said that, I would have loved to have given Skies 5 stars, (And I would have given it 4 1/2 stars, if I had the option to do so.) but I did have one major gripe with it. When flying an airship, there are *WAY* too many random encounters. There were times when literally three seconds after I won a fight, another one started. It discourages a player from seeking out many of the harder-to-find Discoveries. Luckily, on the second disc, you gain the ability to fly above or below the level of the atmosphere monsters can survive at. Also, random encounters didn't seem to happen as often while on foot.

Having gotten that out of the way, I love the game. Airship Battles are probably the most original feature I've seen in an RPG in years. Battles have a nice balance in difficulty. (Not easy at all, but you won't be swearing at your TV at how the computer cheats, either. ^_^) The story is nothing revolutionary, but it's very nice, and there are some very original parts to it.

All-in-all, Skies of Arcadia is a very solid purchase, and I feel it's the best Dreamcast title of 2000. Buy it! Buy it NOW!

One of the Best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: February 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Let me just say this: This review can't come close to explaining the fun and originality of this game. You have to play it to believe it. The game deserves more than 5 stars. The game has traditional RPG styles, such as random battles and a magic gaining system, but they have special twists. Also is the original Airship Battle, in which you can fight another ship in a strategic grid where you plan your moves.

The Spirit Points System allows your whole party (4 people max) to accumulate Spirit Points which you can use for Special Moves, or Magic. All magic takes only 1 MP away, but the more powerful it is, the more Spirit Points it takes up.

The story line seems like its been used a lot before (A nation taking over the world), but it is much more than that, and you realize it after playing for a while. The basic story is Valua, a large empire that plans on stealing all 6 moon crystals to take complete control over the world, using the power of the Gigas. The Gigas are giant monsters with different forms (The yellow Gigas is of the electric yellow moon crystal, red fire, etc.) Once they have control, they can do what they please. Your mission as Vyse and his friend Aika, is to stop Valua from doing this. Along the way you find the mysterious Fina, who needs the moon crystals to keep them protected. It seems basic, but you will learn the truth about why Fina is collecting the crystals, and what the leaders of Valua are really planning to do. You meet other people along the way, each with different personalities. During conversation, the character's expressions will change into all different kinds of ways, from happy to sad, surprised to mad, etc. The graphics are very good too. Take a mix of the greatest RPGs ever, and you get Skies of Arcadia.

This game is a great game set in a great environment. It is in the skies of Arcadia (hence the name), where the old mixes with the new, such as pirate ships and magic, light swords and high tech ships, etc. I would buy a Dreamcast just for this game alone if I had to, it is that good. This is one of the best RPGs I have ever played.

Greatest RPG in Years!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: December 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I am a huge RPG fan and have been playing them for about 5 years now. This game is really great. The graphics are extraordinary, the story is mind-blowing, and how everything fits together makes the game almost *PERFECT*. Its major "rival" at the moment is Grandia II but I have played both and I definitely think Skies of Arcadia is better. If you love RPGs and want one of the greatest games ever made this is definitely for you!

What a beautiful game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: May 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I bought a Dreamcast just for the opportunity to play this game. After a series of disappointments with various other RPGs, I needed a new RPG that redeemed the genre for me. It really felt like nothing good had come since Final Fantasy III, for me. I enjoyed Final Fantasy VII, but it wasn't up to what I expected of Square. And then I read about Skies of Arcadia.

Gorgeous graphics, fantastic characters, wonderful storyline... it's everything I needed and more. I could not stop playing this game. And in the end, I was disappointed that it was over. There's just too much good that can be said about this game.

The best graphics in an RPG to date. The best sound in an RPG to date. A fantastic storyline, but I can't say the best because I didn't quite have the same emotional reaction to this story as I have other RPGs in the past. Wonderful breadth to the game and it's huge. So there is a lot to do and plenty of area to explore.

You simply have to enjoy this game if you enjoy RPGs.

Best RPG I've played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: August 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I decided to play this game based on the excellent reviews given by ... ... ... users. I was not disappointed and consider this game to be the best RPG I've played yet.

With the exception of there being perhaps too many random battles, I liked everything else about the game. Great story and graphics, likeable characters, and a huge world to explore. Having most of the exploration be done while flying around in a ship is a nice change of pace from the standard RPG. I spent a lot of time just admiring the visuals as you explore the different parts of the world.

The story builds up as you go along and by the time I had finished, I wished it could have kept on going. This was despite the fact I had already spent about 60 hours on the game with some help from a walkthrough.

I hope a Skies of Arcadia 2 is in the works and coming out for the US. Even if the sequel is on another system, I will definitely get it. I definitely recommend this game for any fan of RPGs and even those who don't consider themselves RPG gamers should try it, because they would become converts.

Finally, a good rpg for the DC

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 21, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is great. I got it the first day it came out. It is 2 disc, which I hope will translate into long hours of play. So far its looking to be quite long. I'm hoping about 30 hours of actual play and so far I clocked in 11 hours and I am still on the first disc and have only discover 3 worlds or levels. First the bad stuff, There is ocassional pop up which can be annoying but its only in the ship flying mode. The regular battles tend to be long. Sometimes the camera angle can be annoying which you can change, but its still annoying. THose are the only bad. Now for the good. The towns are huge! You enter a house and its the same size. In other words, you are in a full blown world or environment similar to a first person shooter. No prerendered stuff. The battle system is one of the most unique ones. Its simple yet requires strategy. The music is good and pleasing. The dungeons are quite big, but big enough to be fun not time consuming. The story unfolds rather fast. The game is great and if you are looking for a good rpg before the release of Grandia II, get this game, it will definitely hold you over for a while. One more thing, a vmu with display screen is required, one of the weapons use this display to indicate whether there is a special item near by so it can be upgraded. DC owners, GO GET THIS GAME!

No end to the glory

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I must admit that I am a skeptic gamer. Shenmue was released to unprecedented hype, and it was bound to fail in some areas. Skies of Arcadia is the only game, I believe, that hasn't had enough excitement. This game Rocks. I am new to the RPG genre, but was able to pick it right up and get started. The controls are simple, but allow for a wide variety of actions. Think Zelda on N64, except harder, and much, much longer. I've played for 29 hours and am stillless than halfway through. I beat both Zelda64 games in under 4 days. Be warned, however, it is addictive! I've ignored my family, Christmas, meals, and even sleep to achieve hte next goal. The plot is complemented nicely by the great graphics, which immerse you in the Arcadian environment. The changing features, such as new ships, or new characters, keep you coming back for more, too. My 7 year old cousin watches me play late into the night (I'm 18), and tries to help. This is the game of the holiday, and I am so glad I didn't invest in a PS2, when I get great gaming for so much less. Get this game now!!

A VERY solid RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Skies of Arcadia is not the world's most complex RPG, but it is just plain fun. The turn-based battle system is pretty typical of an RPG, though it has some nice twists. On top of the token attack, guard, magic, and item commans, the battle interface also has the Super Move option. These moves require spirit points, which your characters gain after every turn of battle. Also, in order to use super moves, you will have to find rare moonberries, and "spend" them on new super moves. One cool thing about the random battles in this game is that the enemies will actually drop some really usefulor rare items. Instead of dropping a health kit, you often end up with a nice ring, or some armor. Another interesting feature is the ability to change the color of your weapon. As you progress through the game you will have access to six different types of magic. The color of your weapon will reflect which type you are using. Changing the colors will cause the amount of damage on certain enemies to vary, and will also allow you to learn new magic spells. Say, your sword is red. This means that it is fire based. You will do a lot of damage to creatures that are vulnerable to fire, and all of the magic you learn will be on the fire chain. If your partner uses yellow(lightning), you will also gain points towards yellow magic, just not as rapidly as red. If no one in your party has a certain color, you will learn no magic of that type. This may sound complex, but it is very simple once you see it in action. This magic system does not allow for the great customization of the materia system in Final Fantasy 7, but it ultimately does not detract from the fun of the game. One of the best features of Skies of Arcadia is the ship battles/travel. You take the role of an air pirate, and on top of your main quest, there are dozens of landmarks scattered throughout the game which you can discover. But beware, there are rival discoverers who will try to find them as well. If they find them, you will not be able to sell the information for very much money. This feature is entirely seperate of the main story, but is a lot of fun. My one gripe with the discoveries is that the random battles in the sky can get really annoying while you're searching. The ship battles are a lot of fun. They are a lot different from the character battles in that there's more strategy involved, and they are usually much more difficult. Another unique feature of this game is the Swashbuckler rating. You will often be prompted to make choices on your course of action. If you take the brave way, you will hear a jingle and your rating will increase. Eventually your title will change based on your decisions. A bad title would be "Vyse The Ninny" while a good one would be "Vyse the Legend." While this may seem unimportant, people will actually call you by your title, and it will affect the way they talk to you. It's the little quirks like this that really immerse the gamer into this journey. The storyline in SoA is pretty traditional of an RPG, but it is very well presented, and the setting is extremely innovative. Though the main story may be traditional, there are plenty of plot twists and there is enough character development to really get the player interested. This game is like a really long interactive movie that you never really want to put down. It feels very cinematic. For example, when the important enemies appear, the daunting music sounds, and their title pops up as they pace around their battleships. Overall, Skies of Arcadia is a great game, which will satisfy almost all RPG fans and even video gamers in general. The only real annoying aspect of this title is the frequency of random battles in the sky. However, the rest of the game is so good, it makes this flaw really seem insignificant.

Check it out...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game isn't quite perfect but it's almost there. The game starts off with a girl trying to escape from the Imperial Armada(the bad guys). Well, she gets caught but it just so happens that an Air Pirate ship happens to be nearby ready to rid take over this ship and take all it's valuables. That's where our main character and hero, Vyse, comes along. Accompanied by his friend Aika, Vyse goes after bad guy on this ship who has this mysterious girl that they were chasing earlier. Vyse eventually catches up with the bad guy, (Don't quite remember his name) the bad guy sicks his little pet on Vyse and Aika and bails the ship like a coward. That's where the story pretty much starts. The beginning a little dull but this is where it get's better. The battle mode is nothing original but there are a few quite nice innovations like spirit points which allows you the character to pull of special moves. There still are MP (Magic Points) but they aren't used as frequently. The animation of certain special moves and magic are quite appealing and I must say that they did an excellent job with the characters facial expressions. The overall scenery in different areas are remarkable. It looks like the folks over at Sega put in a little overtime working on the designs and animation for this game. The overall story is quite original believe it or not with a few influences from movies and such. The characters are likeable and do not get annoying. *cough cough Squall cough cough* As a long time lover of the Final Fantasy series I must say that this game is quite refreshing after having to play Final Fantasy 8 and 9. All in all, I recommend this game even if you like RPG's just a tad. By the way, the reason I gave this game only 4 stars is that random battles are a little TOO random. But, it's just minor when you realize how great this game really is. Buy and enjoy!

What pleasure, such adventure!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: November 21, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I had forgotten that when I bought my Dreamcast over a year ago that I was very jazzed about seeing some Lunar quality RPGs with 128 bit graphics. Of course, until now I had seen nothing of the sort. SKIES is that game you cherish. The rare experience that never lets you down and displays quality and attention to detail at every turn. The saga is epic, the spells are incredible, the character developement is very impressive for an RPG on a console. The colors, the lights, the sounds...all weave together to put you in a faraway place where you may have difficulty returning to this world. I have not yet finished the game, but from what I've read, the game improves as you progress. If this is the case, then we are looking at a new watermark and likely the first in a series of SKIES games. What's next? Oceans of Arcadia?

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